THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  CHICAGO 
STRIKE  OF  1894 


THE 


STAFFORD  LITTLE  LECTURES 

PUBLISHED  BY 

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The  Two  Hague  Conferences,  by  Joseph  H.  Choate. 
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Experiments  in  Government  and  the  Essentials  of 
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The  Independence  of  the  Executive,  by  Grover 
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The  Government  in  the  Chicago  Strike  of  1894,  by 

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The  Cleveland  Memorial  Tower 
Graduate  College 
Princeton 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 
CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


BY 


* 


GROVER  CLEVELAND 


L 


PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
PRINCETON 

LONDON  :  HUMPHREY  MILFORD 
OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


1913 


Copyright,  1913,  by 
Princeton  University  Press 


Published  October,  1913 


H  DJ3xr 

Ri*. 


124901 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


President  Cleveland  first  visited  Princeton  at 
the  time  of  the  Sesquicentennial  Celebration 
and  made  the  chief  address  of  that  occasion  on 
October  22,  1896.  A  few  months  later  he 
retired  from  the  Presidency  and  made  Prince¬ 
ton  his  home  for  the  remaining  eleven  years  of 
his  life.  For  the  last  seven  of  these  years  he 
served  as  Trustee  of  Princeton  University  and 
for  the  closing  four  years  also  acted  as  Chair¬ 
man  of  the  Committee  on  the  Graduate  School 
having  special  charge  of  the  project  for  the 
residential  Graduate  College.  He  died  on  June 
24,  1908,  and  was  buried,  as  he  desired,  in 
his  family  plot  in  Princeton.  By  express  pro¬ 
vision  of  his  will  the  only  monument  to  mark 
his  grave  was  to  be  the  simple  one  which  has 
already  been  erected. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Cleveland  came  to  live  in 
Princeton  it  was  proposed  to  found  a  Lecture¬ 
ship  on  Public  Affairs  in  his  honor.  In  the 


m 


IV 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


early  summer  of  1899  Mr.  Henry  Stafford 
Little,  an  alumnus  of  the  University,  endowed 
the  lectureship  and  expressed  the  hope  that  Mr. 
Cleveland  would  consent  to  hold  it,  or  at  any 
rate  to  be  the  first  incumbent.  Mr.  Cleveland 
was  reluctant  to  undertake  any  new  work  at 
that  time,  but  on  receiving  special  word  from 
Mr.  Little,  who  was  then  critically  ill,  agreed 
to  prepare  an  address  for  the  next  year. 

On  April  9  and  10,  1900,  every  seat  in 
Alexander  Hall  was  taken  and  there  were 
throngs  standing  to  hear  his  two  addresses  on 
“The  Independence  of  the  Executive.”  The 
next  spring  he  lectured  twice  on  “The  Vene¬ 
zuelan  Boundary  Question.”  For  the  next  two 
years  there  were  no  lectures,  and  in  1904 
Mr.  Cleveland  read  one  lecture  on  “The 
Government  in  the  Chicago  Strike.”  He 
always  had  crowded  audiences,  both  for  him¬ 
self  and  the  grave  importance  of  the  questions 
he  treated.  He  was  heard  with  the  closest 
attention  and  repeatedly  welcomed  with  affec¬ 
tionate  enthusiasm. 

Seventeen  years  ago  to  the  day  since  Mr. 
Cleveland  first  spoke  in  Princeton,  his  Prince- 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


v 


ton  lectures  are  now  republished  in  expanded 
form  on  the  day  of  the  dedication  of  the 
Graduate  College  he  so  strongly  supported  and 
did  not  live  to  see  realized,  and  also  the  dedi¬ 
cation  day  of  the  Cleveland  Memorial  Tower, 
erected  by  national  subscription  and  built  into 
the  Graduate  College  for  which  he  labored. 

The  lectures  here  reprinted  are  disclosures 
of  the  meaning  of  important  happenings  in  our 
national  history.  They  are  even  more;  for 
they  make  clear  as  light  that  plain,  strict,  un- 

4* 

swerving  and  unaffected  honesty  which  was 
the  vigorous  central  power  in  Grover  Cleve¬ 
land’s  life.  It  is  well  his  words  should  be 
heard  again  at  the  time  we  gather  to  dedicate 
his  national  monument. 

Andrew  F.  West. 


The  Graduate  College 

Princeton  University 

October  22,  1913 


2  THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 

carried  as  to  bring  depression  and  disappoint¬ 
ment  to  the  verge  of  discouragement;  and  it 
was  at  the  close  of  the  year  1895  that  executive 
insistence  upon  the  Monroe  Doctrine  culmin¬ 
ated  in  a  situation  that  gave  birth  to  solemn 
thoughts  of  war.  Without  attempting  to  com¬ 
plete  the  list  of  troubles  and  embarrassments 
that  beset  the  administration  during  these  luck¬ 
less  years,  I  have  reserved  for  separate  and 
more  detailed  treatment  one  of  its  incidents  not 
yet  mentioned,  which  immensely  increased  ex¬ 
ecutive  anxiety  and  foreboded  the  most  calam¬ 
itous  and  far-reaching  consequences. 

In  the  last  days  of  June,  1894, 'a  very  deter¬ 
mined  and  ugly  labor  disturbance  broke  out  in 
the  city  of  Chicago.  Almost  in  a  night  it  grew 
to  full  proportions  of  malevolence  and  danger. 
Rioting  and  violence  were  its  early  accompani¬ 
ments;  and  it  spread  so  swiftly  that  within  a 
few  days  it  had  reached  nearly  the  entire  West¬ 
ern  and  Southwestern  sections  of  our  country. 
Railroad  transportation  was  especially  involved 
in  its  attacks.  The  carriage  of  United  States 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


3 


mails  was  interrupted,  interstate  commerce 
was  obstructed,  and  railroad  property  was 
riotously  destroyed. 

This  disturbance  is  often  called  ‘'The  Chi¬ 
cago  Strike.”  It  is  true  that  its  beginning  was 
in  that  city ;  and  the  headquarters  of  those  who 
inaugurated  it  and  directed  its  operations  were 
located  there;  but  the  name  thus  given  to  it  is 
an  entire  misnomer  so  far  as  it  applies  to 
the  scope  and  reach  of  the  trouble.  Railroad 
operations  were  more  or  less  affected  in 
twenty-seven  States  and  Territories;  and  in 
all  these  the  v interposition  of  the  general 
Government  was  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
invoked. 

This  wide-spread  trouble  had  its  inception 
in  a  strike  by  the  employees  of  the  Pullman 
Palace  Car  Company,  a  corporation  located 
and  doing  business  at  the  town  of  Pullman, 
which  is  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Chi¬ 
cago.  This  company  was  a  manufacturing 
corporation — or  at  least  it  was  not  a  railroad 
corporation.  Its  main  object  was  the  opera- 


4 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


tion  and  running  of  sleeping-  and  parlor-cars 
upon  railroads  under  written  contracts ;  but  its 
charter  contemplated  the  manufacture  of  cars 
as  well;  and  soon  after  its  incorporation  it 
began  the  manufacture  of  its  own  cars  and, 
subsequently,  the  manufacture  of  cars  for  the 
general  market. 

The  strike  on  the  part  of  the  employees  of 
this  company  began  on  the  eleventh  day  of 
May,  1894,  and  was  provoked  by  a  reduction 
of  wages. 

The  American  Railway  Union  was  organized 
in  the  summer  of  1893.  It  was  professedly  an 
association  of  all  the  different  classes  of  rail¬ 
way  employees.  In  its  scope  and  intent  it  was 
the  most  compact  and  effective  organization  of 
the  kind  ever  attempted.  Its  purpose  was  a 
thorough  unification  of  defensive  and  offensive 
effort  among  railway  employees  under  one  cen¬ 
tral  direction,  and  the  creation  of  a  combina¬ 
tion  embracing  all  such  employees,  which 
should  make  the  grievances  of  any  section  of 
its  membership  a  common  cause.  Those  promi- 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


5 


nent  in  this  project  estimated  that  various 
other  organizations  of  railroad  employees  then 
existing  had  a  membership  of  102,000  in  the 
United  States  and  neighboring  countries;  and 
they  claimed  that  these  brotherhoods,  because 
of  divided  councils  and  for  other  reasons,  were 
ineffective,  and  that  nearly  1,000,000  railroad 
employees  still  remained  unorganized. 

The  wonderful  growth  of  this  new  combina¬ 
tion  is  made  apparent  by  the  fact  that  between 
the  month  of  August,  1893,  and  the  time  it 
became  involved  in  the  Pullman  strike,  in  June, 
1894,  it  had  enrolled  nearly  150,000  members. 

The  employees  of  the  Pullman  Palace  Car 
Company  could  not  on  any  reasonable  and 
consistent  theory  be  regarded  as  eligible  to 
membership  in  an  organization  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  railway  employees;  and  yet,  dur- 
the  months  of  March,  April,  and  May,  1894, 
it  appears  that  nearly  4000  of  these  employees 
were  enrolled  in  the  American  Railway  Union. 

This,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  was  an  exceed¬ 
ingly  unfortunate  proceeding,  since  it  created  a 


6 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


situation  which  implicated  in  a  comparatively 
insignificant  quarrel  between  the  managers  of 
an  industrial  establishment  and  their  workmen 
the  large  army  of  the  Railway  Union.  It  was 
the  membership  of  these  workmen  in  the  Rail¬ 
way  Union,  and  the  union’s  consequent  as¬ 
sumption  of  their  quarrel,  that  gave  it  the 
proportions  of  a  tremendous  disturbance,  par¬ 
alyzing  the  most  important  business  interests, 
obstructing  the  functions  of  the  Government, 
and  disturbing  social  peace  and  order. 

No  injury  to  the  property  of  the  Pullman 
Palace  Car  Company  was  done  or  attempted 
while  the  strike  was  confined  to  its  employees ; 
and  during  that  time  very  little  disorder  of  any 
kind  occurred. 

It  so  happened,  however,  that  in  June,  1894, 
after  the  strike  at  Pullman  had  continued  for 
about  one  month,  a  regular  stated  convention 
of  the  American  Railway  Union  was  held  in 
the  city  of  Chicago,  which  was  attended  by 
delegates  from  local  branches  of  the  organiza¬ 
tion  in  different  States,  as  well  as  by  represen- 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


7 


tatives  of  its  members  among  the  employees  of 
the  Pullman  Palace  Car  Company.  At  this 
convention  the  trouble  at  Pullman  was  con¬ 
sidered,  and  after  earnest  efforts  on  the  part 
of  the  Railway  Union  to  bring  about  a  settle¬ 
ment,  a  resolution  was,  on  the  twenty-second 
day  of  June,  passed  by  the  convention,  declar¬ 
ing  that  unless  the  Pullman  Palace  Car 
Company  should  adjust  the  grievances  of  its 
employees  before  noon  of  the  twenty-sixth  day 
of  June,  the  members  of  the  American  Railway 
Union  would,  after  that  date,  refuse  to  handle 
Pullman  cars  and  equipment. 

The  twenty-sixth  day  of  June  arrived  with¬ 
out  any  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  parties 
to  the  Pullman  controversy ;  and  thereupon 
the  order  made  by  the  American  Railway 
Union  forbidding  the  handling  of  Pullman 
cars,  became  operative  throughout  its  entire 
membership. 

At  this  time  the  Pullman  Palace  Car  Com¬ 
pany  was  furnishing  drawing-room  and  sleep¬ 
ing-car  accommodations  to  the  traveling  public 


8 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


under  contracts  with  numerous  railway  com¬ 
panies,  and  was  covering  by  this  service  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  miles  of 
railway,  or  approximately  three  fourths  of  all 
the  railroad  mileage  of  the  country.  The  same 
railroad  companies  which  had  contracted  to 
use  these  Pullman  cars  upon  their  lines  had 
contracts  with  the  United  States  Government 
for  the  carriage  of  mails,  and  were,  of  course, 
also  largely  engaged  in  interstate  commerce. 
It  need  hardly  be  said  that,  of  necessity,  the 
trains  on  which  the  mails  were  carried  and 
which  served  the  purpose  of  interstate  com¬ 
merce  were,  very  generally,  those  to  which  the 
Pullman  cars  were  also  attached. 

The  president  of  the  Railway  Union  was  one 
Eugene  V.  Debs.  In  a  sworn  statement  after¬ 
ward  made  he  gave  the  following  description 
of  the  results  of  the  interference  of  the  union 
in  the  Pullman  dispute : 

The  employees,  obedient  to  the  order  of  the 
convention,  at  once,  on  the  26th,  refused  to  haul 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


9 


Pullman  cars.  The  switchmen,  in  the  first  place, 
refused  to  attach  a  Pullman  car  to  a  train,  and 
that  is  where  the  trouble  began ;  and  then,  when 
a  switchman  would  be  discharged  for  that, 
they  would  all  simultaneously  quit,  as  they  had 
agreed  to  do.  One  department  after  another 
was  involved  until  the  Illinois  Central  was  prac¬ 
tically  paralyzed,  and  the  Rock  Island  and  other 
roads  in  their  turn.  Up  to  the  first  day  of  July, 
or  after  the  strike  had  been  in  progress  five  days, 
the  railway  managers,  as  we  believe,  were  com¬ 
pletely  defeated.  Their  immediate  resources 
were  exhausted,  their  properties  were  paralyzed, 
and  they  were  unable  to  operate  their  trains. 
Our  men  were  intact  at  every  point,  firm,  quiet, 
and  yet  determined,  and  no  sign  of  violence  or 
disorder  anywhere.  That  was  the  condition  on 
the  thirtieth  day  of  June  and  the  first  day  of 
July. 

The  officers  of  the  Railway  Union  from 
their  headquarters  in  the  city  of  Chicago  gave 
directions  for  the  maintenance  and  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  strike,  which  were  quickly  trans- 


10 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


mitted  to  distant  railroad  points  and  were  there 
promptly  executed.  As  early  as  the  28th  of 
June,  two  days  after  the  beginning  of  the 
strike  ordered  by  the  Railway  Union  at  Chi¬ 
cago,  information  was  received  at  Washington 
from  the  Post-Office  Department  that  on  the 
Southern  Pacific  System,  between  Portland 
and  San  Francisco,  Ogden  and  San  Francisco, 
and  Los  Angeles  and  San  Francisco,  the  mails 
were  completely  obstructed,  and  that  the 
strikers  refused  to  permit  trains  to  which 
Pullman  cars  were  attached  to  run  over  the 
lines  mentioned.  Thereupon  Attorney-General 
Olney  immediately  sent  the  following  tele¬ 
graphic  despatch  to  the  United  States  district 
attorneys  in  the  State  of  California: 


Washington,  D.  C.,  June  28,  1894. 

See  that  the  passage  of  regular  trains,  carry¬ 
ing  United  States  mails  in  the  usual  and  ordin¬ 
ary  way,  as  contemplated  by  the  act  of  Congress 
and  directed  by  the  Postmaster-General,  is  not 
obstructed.  Procure  warrants  or  any  other 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


II 


available  process  from  United  States  courts 
against  any  and  all  persons  engaged  in  such 
obstructions,  and  direct  the  marshal  to  execute 
the  same  by  such  number  of  deputies  or  such 
posse  as  may  be  necessary. 

O11  the  same  day,  and  during  a  number  of 
days  immediately  following,  complaints  of  a 
similar  character,  sometimes  accompanied  by 
charges  of  forcible  seizure  of  trains  and  other 
violent  disorders,  poured  in  upon  the  Attor¬ 
ney-General  from  all  parts  of  the  West  and 
Southwest.  These  complaints  came  from  post- 
office  officials,  from  United  States  marshals  and 
district  attorneys,  from  railroad  managers,  and 
from  other  officials  and  private  citizens.  In 
all  cases  of  substantial  representation  of  inter¬ 
ference  with  the  carriage  of  mails,  a  despatch 
identical  with  that  already  quoted  was  sent  by 
the  Attorney-General  to  the  United  States  dis¬ 
trict  attorneys  in  the  disturbed  localities;  and 
this  was  supplemented,  whenever  necessary,  by 
such  other  prompt  action  as  the  different  emer¬ 
gencies  required. 


12 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


I  shall  not  enter  upon  an  enumeration  of  all 
the  disorders  and  violence,  the  defiance  of  law 
and  authority,  and  the  obstructions  of  national 
functions  and  duties,  which  occurred  in  many 
localities  as  a  consequence  of  this  labor  con¬ 
tention,  thus  tremendously  reinforced  and  com¬ 
pletely  under  way.  It  is  my  especial  purpose 
to  review  the  action  taken  by  the  Government 
for  the  maintenance  of  its  own  authority  and 
the  protection  of  the  interests  intrusted  to  its 
keeping,  so  far  as  they  were  endangered  by  this 
disturbance;  and  I  do  not  intend  to  specifically 
deal  with  the  incidents  of  the  strike  except  in 
so  far  as  a  reference  to  them  may  be  necessary 
to  show  conditions  which  not  only  justified  but 
actually  obliged  the  Government  to  resort  to 
stern  and  unusual  measures  in  the  assertion  of 
its  prerogatives. 

Inasmuch,  therefore,  as  the  city  of  Chicago 
was  the  birthplace  of  the  disturbance  and  the 
home  of  its  activities,  and  because  it  was  the 
field  of  its  most  pronounced  and  malign  mani¬ 
festations,  as  well  as  the  place  of  its  final  ex- 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


13 


tinction,  I  shall  meet  the  needs  of  my  subject 
if  I  supplement  what  has  been  already  said  by 
a  recital  of  events  occurring  at  this  central 
point.  In  doing  this,  I  shall  liberally  embody 
documents,  orders,  instructions,  and  reports 
which  I  hope  will  not  prove  tiresome,  since 
they  supply  the  facts  I  desire  to  present,  at 
first  hand  and  more  impressively  than  they 
could  be  presented  by  any  words  of  mine. 

Owing  to  the  enforced  relationship  of  Chi¬ 
cago  to  the  strike  which  started  within  its 
borders,  and  because  of  its  importance  as  a  cen¬ 
ter  of  railway  traffic,  Government  officials  at 
Washington  were  not  surprised  by  the  early 
and  persistent  complaints  of  mail  and  interstate 
commerce  obstructions  which  reached  them 
from  that  city.  It  was  from  the  first  antici¬ 
pated  that  this  would  be  the  seat  of  the  most 
serious  complications,  and  the  place  where  the 
strong  arm  of  the  law  would  be  most  needed. 
In  these  circumstances  it  would  have  been  a 
criminal  neglect  of  duty  if  those  charged  with 
the  protection  of  governmental  agencies  and 


14 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


the  enforcement  of  orderly  obedience  and  sub¬ 
mission  to  Federal  authority,  had  been  remiss 
in  preparations  for  any  emergency  in  that 
quarter. 

On  the  thirtieth  day  of  June  the  district  at¬ 
torney  at  Chicago  reported  by  telegraph  that 
mail  trains  in  the  suburbs  of  Chicago  were,  on 
the  previous  night,  stopped  by  strikers,  that  an 
engine  had  been  cut  off  and  disabled,  and  that 
conditions  were  growing  more  and  more  likely 
to  culminate  in  the  stoppage  of  all  trains ;  and 
he  recommended  that  the  marshal  be  authorized 
to  employ  a  force  of  special  deputies  who 
should  be  placed  on  trains  to  protect  mails  and 
detect  the  parties  guilty  of  such  interference. 
In  reply  to  this  despatch  Attorney-General  01- 
ney  on  the  same  day  authorized  the  marshal  to 
employ  additional  deputies  as  suggested,  and 
designated  Edwin  Walker,  an  able  and  promi¬ 
nent  attorney  in  Chicago,  as  special  counsel 
for  the  Government,  to  assist  the  district  at¬ 
torney  in  any  legal  proceedings  that  might  be 
instituted.  He  also  notified  the  district  attor- 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


.15 


ney  of  the  steps  thus  taken,  and  enjoined  upon 
him  that  “action  ought  to  be  prompt  and  vigo¬ 
rous,”  and  also  directed  him  to  confer  with  the 
special  counsel  who  had  been  employed.  In  a 
letter  of  the  same  date  addressed  to  this  special 
counsel,  the  Attorney-General,  in  making  sug¬ 
gestions  concerning  legal  proceedings,  wrote : 
“It  has  seemed  to  me  that  if  the  rights  of  the 
United  States  were  vigorously  asserted  in  Chi¬ 
cago,  the  origin  and  center  of  the  demonstra¬ 
tion,  the  result  would  be  to  make  it  a  failure  / 
'  everywhere  else,  and  to  prevent  its  spread  over 
the  entire  country”;  and  in  that  connection  he 
indicated  that  it  might  be  advisable,  instead  of 
relying  entirely  upon  warrants  issued  under 
criminal  statutes  against  persons  actually  guilty 
of  the  offense  of  obstructing  the  United  States 
mails,  to  apply  to  the  courts  for  injunctions 
which  would  restrain  and  prevent  any  attempt 
to  commit  such  offense.  This  suggestion  con¬ 
templated  the  inauguration  of  legal  proceed¬ 
ings  in  a  regular  and  usual  way  to  restrain 
those  prominently  concerned  in  the  interfer- 


i6  THE  government  in  the 

ence  with  the  mails  and  the  obstruction  of  in¬ 
terstate  commerce,  basing  such  proceedings  on 
the  proposition  that,  under  the  Constitution 
and  laws,  these  subjects  were  in  the  exclusive 
care  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  for  their  protection  the  Federal  courts 
were  competent  under  general  principles  of  law 
to  intervene  by  injunction;  and  on  the  further 
ground  that  under  an  act  of  Congress,  passed 
July  2,  1890,  conspiracies  in  restraint  of  trade 
or  commerce  among  the  several  States  were 
declared  to  be  illegal,  and  the  circuit  courts 
of  the  United  States  were  therein  expressly 
given  jurisdiction  to  prevent  and  restrain  such 
conspiracies. 

On  the  first  day  of  July  the  district  attorney 
reported  to  the  Attorney-General  that  he  was 
preparing  a  bill  of  complaint  to  be  presented  to 
the  court  the  next  day,  on  an  application  for 
an  injunction.  He  further  reported  that  very 
little  mail  and  no  freight  was  moving,  that  the 
marshal  was  using  all  his  force  to  prevent 
riots  and  the  obstruction  of  tracks,  and  that 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


1 7 


this  force  was  clearly  inadequate.  On  the  same 
clay  the  marshal  reported  that  the  situation  was 
desperate,  that  he  had  sworn  in  over  four 
hundred  deputies,  that  many  more  would  be  re¬ 
quired  to  protect  mail  trains,  and  that  he  ex¬ 
pected  great  trouble  the  next  day.  He  further 
expressed  the  opinion  that  one  hundred  riot 
guns  were  needed. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  these  reports,  and  antici¬ 
pating  an  attempt  to  serve  injunctions  on  the 
following  day,  the  Attorney-General  immedi¬ 
ately  sent  a  despatch  to  the  district  attorney 
directing  him  to  report  at  once  if  the  process 
of  the  court  should  be  resisted  by  such  force  as 
the  marshal  could  not  overcome,  and  suggest¬ 
ing  that  the  United  States  judge  should  join 
in  such  report.  He  at  the  same  time  sent  a 
despatch  to  the  special  counsel  requesting  him 
to  report  his  view  of  the  situation  as  early  as 
the  forenoon  of  the  next  day. 

In  explanation  of  these  two  despatches  it 
should  here  be  said  that  the  desperate  character 
of  this  disturbance  was  not  in  the  least  under- 


i8  THE  government  in  the 

estimated  by  executive  officials  at  Washington ; 
and  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  while  men¬ 
acing  conditions  were  moving  swiftly  and  ac¬ 
cumulating  at  Chicago,  like  conditions,  inspired 
and  supported  from  that  central  point,  existed 
in  many  other  places  within  the  area  of  the 
strike’s  contagion. 

Of  course  it  was  hoped  by  those  charged 
with  the  responsibility  of  dealing  with  the  situ¬ 
ation,  that  a  direct  assertion  of  authority  by  the 
marshal  and  a  resort  to  the  restraining  power 
of  the  courts  would  prove  sufficient  for  the 
emergency.  Notwithstanding,  however,  an 
anxious  desire  to  avoid  measures  more  radical, 
the  fact  had  not  been  overlooked  that  a  con¬ 
tingency  might  occur  which  would  compel  a 
resort  to  military  force.  The  key  to  these  des¬ 
patches  of  the  Attorney-General  is  found  in  the 
determination  of  the  Federal  authorities  to 
overcome  by  any  lawful  and  constitutional 
means  all  resistance  to  governmental  functions 
as  related  to  the  transportation  of  mails,  the 
operation  of  interstate  commerce,  and  the  pre- 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


19 


servation  of  the  property  of  the  United  States. 
The  Constitution  requires  that  the  United 
States  shall  protect  each  of  the  States  against 
invasion,  “and  on  application  of  the  legislature, 
or  of  the  executive  (when  the  legislature  can¬ 
not  be  convened),  against  domestic  violence.” 
There  was  plenty  of  domestic  violence  in  the 
city  of  Chicago  and  in  the  State  of  Illinois  dur¬ 
ing  the  early  days  of  July,  1894;  but  no  ap¬ 
plication  was  made  to  the  Federal  Government 
for  assistance.  It  was  probably  a  very  fortu¬ 
nate  circumstance  that  the  presence  of  United 
States  soldiers  in  Chicago  at  that  time  did  not 
depend  upon  the  request  or  desire  of  Governor 
Altgeld. 

Section  5298  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the 
United  States  provides :  “Whenever,  by  rea¬ 
son  of  unlawful  obstructions,  combinations  or 
assemblages  of  persons,  or  rebellion  against 
the  authority  of  the  United  States,  it  shall  be¬ 
come  impracticable  in  the  judgment  of  the 
President  to  enforce,  by  the  ordinary  course 
of  judicial  proceedings,  the  laws  of  the  United 


/ 


20  the  government  in  the 

States  within  any  State  or  Territory,  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  the  President  to  call  forth  the 
militia  of  any  or  all  of  the  States,  and  to  em¬ 
ploy  such  parts  of  the  land  or  naval  forces  of 
the  United  States  as  he  may  deem  necessary 
to  enforce  the  faithful  execution  of  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  or  to  suppress  such  rebel¬ 
lion,  in  whatever  State  or  Territory  thereof 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  may  be  forcibly 
opposed,  or  the  execution  thereof  be  forcibly 
obstructed”;  and  Section  5299  provides: 
“Whenever  any  insurrection,  domestic  violence, 
unlawful  combinations  or  conspiracies  in  any 
State  .  .  .  opposes  or  obstructs  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  or  the  due  execution  thereof, 
or  impedes  or  obstructs  the  due  course  of 
justice  under  the  same,  it  shall  be  lawful  for 
the  President,  and  it  shall  be  his  duty,  to  take 
such  measures,  by  the  employment  of  the  mi¬ 
litia,  or  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  either,  or  by  other  means 
as  he  may  deem  necessary,  for  the  suppres¬ 
sion  of  such  insurrection,  domestic  violence  or 
combinations.” 


II 


It  was  the  intention  of  the  Attorney-General 
to  suggest  in  these  despatches  that  immediate 
and  authoritative  information  should  be  given 

r 

to  the  Washington  authorities  if  a  time  should 
arrive  when,  under  the  sanction  of  general  ex¬ 
ecutive  authority,  or  the  constitutional  and  stat¬ 
utory  provisions  above  quoted,  a  military  force 
would  be  necessary  at  the  scene  of  disturbance. 

On  the  2d  of  July,  the  day  after  these  de¬ 
spatches  were  sent,  information  was  received 
from  the  district  attorney  and  special  counsel 
that  a  sweeping  injunction  had  been  granted 
against  Eugene  V.  Debs,  president  of  the 
American  Railway  Union,  and  other  officials  of 
that  organization,  together  with  parties  whose 
names  were  unknown,  and  that  the  writs  would 
be  served  that  afternoon.  The  special  counsel 
also  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  would  re¬ 
quire  Government  troops  to  enforce  the  orders 


21 


22 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


of  the  court  and  protect  the  transportation  of 
mails. 

Major-General  Schofield  was  then  in  com¬ 
mand  of  the  army ;  and,  after  a  consultation 
with  him,  in  which  the  Attorney-General  and 
the  Secretary  of  War  took  part,  I  directed  the 
issuance  of  the  following  order  by  telegraph  to 
General  Nelson  A.  Miles,  in  command  of  the 
Military  Department  of  Missouri,  with  head¬ 
quarters  at  Chicago : 

Headquarters  of  the  Army. 

Washington,  July  2,  1894. 
To  the  Commanding-General , 

Department  of  Missouri , 

Chicago,  III. 

You  will  please  make  all  necessary  arrange¬ 
ments  confidentially  for  the  transportation  of 
the  entire  garrison  at  Fort  Sheridan — infantry, 
cavalry,  and  artillery — to  the  lake  front  in  the 
city  of  Chicago.  To  avoid  possible  interruption 
of  the  movement  by  rail  and  by  marching 
through  a  part  of  the  city,  it  may  be  advisable 
to  bring  them  by  steam-boat.  Please  consider 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


23 


this  matter  and  have  the  arrangements  perfected 
without  delay.  You  may  expect  orders  at  any 
time  for  the  movement.  Acknowledge  receipt 
and  report  in  what  manner  movement  is  to  be 
made.  J.  M.  Schofield, 

M  aj  or -General  Co  m  man  ding . 


It  should  by  no  means  be  inferred  from  this 
despatch  that  it  had  been  definitely  determined 
that  the  use  of  a  military  force  was  inevitable. 
It  was  still  hoped  that  the  effect  of  the  injunc¬ 
tion  would  be  such  that  this  alternative  might 
be  avoided.  A  painful  emergency  is  created 
when  public  duty  forces  the  necessity  of  plac¬ 
ing  trained  soldiers  face*  to  face  with  riotous 
opposition  to  the  general  Government,  and  an 
acute  and  determined  defiance  to  law  and  order. 
This  course,  once  entered  upon,  admits  of  no 
backward  step;  and  an  appreciation  of  the  con¬ 
sequences  that  may  ensue  cannot  fail  to  oppress 
those  responsible  for  its  adoption  with  sadly 
disturbing  reflections.  Nevertheless,  it  was 
perfectly  plain  that,  whatever  the  outcome 


24 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


might  be,  the  situation  positively  demanded 
such  precaution  and  preparation  as  would  in¬ 
sure  readiness  and  promptness  in  case  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  a  military  force  should  finally  be  found 
necessary. 

On  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  July  3, 
the  Attorney-General  received  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Walker,  the  special  counsel,  in  which,  af¬ 
ter  referring  to  the  issuance  of  the  injunctions 
and  setting  forth  that  the  marshal  was  en¬ 
gaged  in  serving  them,  he  wrote : 


I  do  not  believe  that  the  marshal  and  his 
deputies  can  protect  .the  railroad  companies  in 
moving  their  trains,  either  freight  or  passenger, 
including,  of  course,  the  trains  carrying  United 
States  mails.  Possibly,  however,  the  service  of 
the  writ  of  injunction  will  have  a  restraining  in¬ 
fluence  upon  Debs  and  other  officers  of  the 
association.  If  it  does  not,  from  present  ap¬ 
pearances,  I  think  it  is  the  opinion  of  all  that 
the  orders  of  the  court  cannot  be  enforced  except 
by  the  aid  of  the  regular  army. 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


25 


Thereupon  the  Attorney-General  immedi¬ 
ately  sent  this  despatch  to  the  district  attorney : 

I  trust  use  of  United  States  troops  will  not 
be  necessary.  If  it  becomes  necessary,  they  will 
be  used  promptly  and  decisively  upon  the  justify¬ 
ing  facts  being  certified  to  me.  In  such  case,  if 
practicable,  let  Walker  and  the  marshal  and 
United  States  judge  join  in  statement  as  to  the 
exigency. 

A  few  hours  afterward  the  following  urgent 
and  decisive  despatch  from  the  marshal,  en¬ 
dorsed  by  a  judge  of  the  United  States  Court 
and  the  district  attorney  and  special  counsel, 
was  received  by  the  Attorney-General. 

Chicago,  Ill.,  July  3,  1894. 
Hon.  Richard  Olney,  Attorney-General, 
Washington,  D.  C. : 

When  the  injunction  was  granted  yesterday,  a 
mob  of  from  two  to  three  thousand  held  posses¬ 
sion  of  a  point  in  the  city  near  the  crossing  of  the 


26 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


Rock  Island  by  other  roads,  where  they  had 
already  ditched  a  mail-train,  and  prevented  the 
passing  of  any  trains,  whether  mail  or  other¬ 
wise.  I  read  the  injunction  writ  to  this  mob 
and  commanded  them  to  disperse.  The  reading 
of  the  writ  met  with  no  response  except  jeers 
and  hoots.  Shortly  after,  the  mob  threw  a 
number  of  baggage-cars  across  the  track,  since 
when  no  mail-train  has  been  able  to  move.  I 
am  unable  to  disperse  the  mob,  clear  the  tracks, 
or  arrest  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  the  acts 
named,  and  believe  that  no  force  less  than  the 
regular  troops  of  the  United  States  can  procure 
the  passage  of  the  mail-trains,  or  enforce  the 
orders  of  the  courts.  I  believe  people  engaged 
in  trades  are  quitting  employment  to-day,  and  in 
my  opinion  will  be  joining  the  mob  to-night  and 
especially  to-morrow;  and  it  is  my  judgment 
that  the  troops  should  be  here  at  the  earliest 
moment.  An  emergency  has  arisen  for  their 
presence  in  this  city.  J.  W.  Arnold, 

United  States  Marshal. 

We  have  read  the  foregoing,  and  from  that 
information,  and  other  information  that  has 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


27 


come  to  us,  believe  that  an  emergency  exists  for 
the  immediate  presence  of  United  States  troops. 

P.  S.  Grosscup,  Judge. 

Edwin  Walker, 

Thomas  E.  Milchist, 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  follow¬ 
ing  order  was  telegraphed  from  army  head¬ 
quarters  in  the  city  of  Washington : 

War  Department, 
Headquarters  of  the  Army. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  July  3,  1894, 
4  o’clock  P.M. 

To  Martin,  Adjutant-General, 

Headquarters  Department  of  Missouri, 
Chicago,  Ill. 

It  having  become  impracticable  in  the  judg¬ 
ment  of  the  President  to  enforce  by  the  ordin¬ 
ary  course  of  judicial  proceedings  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  you  will  direct  Colonel  Crof- 
ton  to  move  his  entire  command  at  once  to  the 
city  of  Chicago  (leaving  the  necessary  guard  at 
Fort  Sheridan),  there  to  execute  the  orders  and 


28 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


processes  of  the  United  States  court,  to  prevent 
the  obstruction  of  the  United  States  mails,  and 
generally  to  enforce  the  faithful  execution  of 
the  laws  of  the  United  States.  He  will  confer 
with  the  United  States  marshal,  the  United 
States  district  attorney,  and  Edwin  Walker,  spe¬ 
cial  counsel.  Acknowledge  receipt  and  report 
action  promptly.  By  order  of  the  President. 

J.  M.  Schofield,  Major-General . 


Immediately  after  this  order  was  issued,  the 
following  despatch  was  sent  to  the  district  at¬ 
torney  by  the  Attorney-General : 

Colonel  Crofton’s  command  ordered  to  Chicago 
by  the  President.  As  to  disposition  and  move¬ 
ment  of  troops,  yourself,  Walker,  and  marshal 
should  confer  with  Colonel  Crofton  and  with 
Colonel  Martin,  adjutant-general  at  Chicago. 
While  action  should  be  prompt  and  decisive,  it 
should  of  course  be  kept  within  the  limits  pro¬ 
vided  by  the  Constitution  and  laws.  Rely  upon 
yourself  and  Walker  to  see  that  this  is  done. 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894  29 

Colonel  Martin,  adjutant-general  at  Chi¬ 
cago,  reported,  the  same  night  at  half-past  nine 
o'clock,  that  the  order  for  the  movement  of 
troops  was,  immediately  on  its  receipt  by  him, 
transmitted  to  Fort  Sheridan,  and  that  Colonel 
Crof ton’s  command  started  for  Chicago  at  nine 
o’clock. 

During  the  forenoon  of  the  next  day,  July 
4,  Colonel  Martin  advised  the  War  Depart¬ 
ment  that  Colonel  Crofton  reported  his  com¬ 
mand  in  the  city  of  Chicago  at  10:15  that 
morning.  After  referring  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  troops  had  been  distributed,  this  offi¬ 
cer  added :  “People  seem  to  feel  easier  since 
arrival  of  troops.” 

General  Miles,  commanding  the  department, 
arrived  in  Chicago  the  same  morning,  and  at 
once  assumed  direction  of  military  movements. 
In  the  afternoon  of  that  day  he  sent  a  report  to 
the  War  Department  at  Washington,  giving  an 
account  of  the  disposition  of  troops,  recounting 
an  unfavorable  condition  of  affairs,  and  rec¬ 
ommending  an  increase  of  the  garrison  at 


30 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


Fort  Sheridan  sufficient  to  meet  any  emergency. 
In  response  to  this  despatch  General  Miles 
was  immediately  authorized  to  order  six  com¬ 
panies  of  infantry  from  Fort  Leavenworth,  in 
Kansas,  and  two  companies  from  Fort  Brady, 
in  Michigan,  to  Fort  Sheridan. 

On  the  fifth  day  of  July  he  reported  that  a 
mob  of  over  two  thousand  had  gathered  that 
morning  at  the  stock-yards,  crowded  among 
the  troops,  obstructed  the  movement  of  trains, 
knocked  down  a  railroad  official,  and  over¬ 
turned  about  twenty  freight-cars,  which  ob¬ 
structed  all  freight  and  passenger  traffic  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  stock-yards,  and  that  the  mob 
had  also  derailed  a  passenger-train  on  the 
Pittsburgh,  Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago  Rail¬ 
road,  and  burned  switches.  To  this  recital  of 
violent  demonstrations  he  added  the  following 
statement : 

The  injunction  of  the  United  States  court  is 
openly  defied,  and  unless  the  mobs  are  dispersed 
by  the  action  of  the  police  or  they  are  fired  upon 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


3T 


by  United  States  troops,  more  serious  trouble 
may  be  expected,  as  the  mob  is  increasing  and 
becoming  more  defiant. 

In  view  of  the  situation  as  reported  by  Gen¬ 
eral  Miles,  a  despatch  was  sent  to  him  by  Gen¬ 
eral  Schofield  directing  him  to  concentrate  his 
troops  in  order  that  they  might  act  more  effec¬ 
tively  in  the  execution  of  orders  theretofore 
given,  and  in  the  protection  of  United  States 
property.  This  despatch  concluded  as  follows  : 

The  mere  preservation  of  peace  and  good 
order  in  the  city  is,  of  course,  the  province  of 
the  city  and  state  authorities. 

The  situation  on  the  sixth  day  of  July  was 
thus  described  in  a  despatch  sent  in  the  after¬ 
noon  of  that  day  by  General  Miles  to  the  Sec¬ 
retary  of  War: 

In  answer  to  your  telegram,  I  report  the  fol¬ 
lowing:  Mayor  Hopkins  last  night  issued  a 

proclamation  prohibiting  riotous  assemblies  and 


32 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


directing  the  police  to  stop  people  from  molest¬ 
ing  railway  communication.  Governor  Altgeld 
has  ordered  General  Wheeler’s  brigade  on  duty 
in  Chicago  to  support  the  Mayor’s  authority. 
So  far,  there  have  been  no  large  mobs  like  the 
one  of  yesterday,  which  moved  from  51st  Street 
to  18th  Street  before  it  dispersed.  The  lawless¬ 
ness  has  been  along  the  line  of  the  railways, 
destroying  and  burning  more  than  one  hundred 
cars  and  railway  buildings,  and  obstructing 
transportation  in  various  ways,  even  to  the  extent 
of  cutting  telegraph  lines.  United  States  troops 
have  dispersed  mobs  at  51st  Street,  Kensington, 
and  a  company  of  infantry  is  moving  along  the 
Rock  Island  to  support  a  body  of  United  States 
marshals  in  making  arrests  for  violating  the  in¬ 
junction  of  the  United  States  court.  Of  the 
twenty-three  roads  centering  in  Chicago,  only  six 
are  unobstructed  in  freight,  passenger,  and  mail 
transportation.  Thirteen  are  at  present  entirely 
obstructed,  and  ten  are  running  only  mail-  and 
passenger-trains.  Large  numbers  of  trains  mov¬ 
ing  in  and  out  of  the  city  have  been  stoned  and 
fired  upon  by  mobs,  and  one  engineer  killed? 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


33 


There  was  a  secret  meeting  to-day  of  Debs  and 
the  representatives  of  labor  unions  considering 
the  advisability  of  a  general  strike  of  all  labor 
unions.  About  one  hundred  men  were  present  at 
that  meeting.  The  result  is  not  yet  known. 
United  States  troops  are  at  the  stock-yards,  Ken¬ 
sington,  Blue  Island,  crossing  of  51st  Street,  and 
have  been  moving  along  some  of  the  lines :  the 
balance,  eight  companies  of  infantry,  battery  of 
artillery,  and  one  troop  of  cavalry,  are  camped 
on  Lake  Front  Park,  ready  for  any  emergency 
and  to  protect  Government  buildings  and  prop¬ 
erty.  It  is  learned  from  the  Fire  Department, 
City  Hall,  that  a  party  of  strikers  has  been  going 
through  the  vicinity  from  14th  to  41st  streets  and 
Stewart  Avenue  freight-yards,  throwing  gasoline 
on  freight-cars  all  through  that  section.  Captain 
Ford,  of  the  Fire  Department,  was  badly  stoned 
this  morning.  Troops  have  just  dispersed  a  mob 
of  incendiaries  on  Fort  Wayne  tracks,  near 
51st  Street,  and  fires  that  were  started  have 
been  suppressed.  Mob  just  captured  mail-train 
at  47th  Street,  and  troops  sent  to  disperse 
them. 


34 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


On  the  eighth  day  of  July,  in  view  of  the 
apparently  near  approach  of  a  crisis  which  the 
Government  had  attempted  to  avoid,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  Executive  Proclamation  was  issued  and 
at  once  extensively  published  in  the  city  of 
Chicago : 

Whereas,  by  reason  of  unlawful  obstruction, 
combinations  and  assemblages  of  persons,  it  has 
become  impracticable,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
President,  to  enforce,  by  the  ordinary  course  of 
judicial  proceedings,  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  within  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  especially 
in  the  city  of  Chicago  within  said  State ;  and 

Whereas,  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  the 
faithful  execution  of  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  and  protecting  its  property  and  removing 
obstructions  to  the  United  States  mails  in  the 
State  and  city  aforesaid,  the  President  has  em¬ 
ployed  a  part  of  the  military  forces  of  the  United 
States : — 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Grover  Cleveland,  President 
of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  admonish  all 
good  citizens,  and  all  persons  who  may  be  or  may 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


35 


come  within  the  City  and  State  aforesaid,  against 
aiding,  countenancing,  encouraging,  or  taking  any 
part  in  such  unlawful  obstructions,  combinations, 
and  assemblages ;  and  I  hereby  warn  all  persons 
engaged  in  or  in  any  way  connected  with  such 
unlawful  obstructions,  combinations,  and  assem¬ 
blages  to  disperse  and  retire  peaceably  to  their 
respective  abodes  on  or  before  twelve  o’clock 
noon  of  the  9th  day  of  July  instant. 

Those  who  disregard  this  warning  and  persist 
in  taking  part  with  a  riotous  mob  in  forcibly  re¬ 
sisting  and  obstructing  the  execution  of  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  or  interfering  with  the 
functions  of  the  Government,  or  destroying  or 
attempting  to  destroy  the  property  belonging  to 
the  United  States  or  under  its  protection,  cannot 
be  regarded  otherwise  than  as  public  enemies. 

Troops  employed  against  such  a  riotous  mob 
will  act  with  all  the  moderation  and  forbearance 
consistent  with  the  accomplishment  of  the  de¬ 
sired  end;  but  the  stern  necessities  that  confront 
them  will  not  with  certainty  permit  discrimination 
between  guilty  participants  and  those  who  are 
mingling  with  them  from  curiosity  and  without 


36 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


criminal  intent.  The  only  safe  course,  therefore, 
for  those  not  actually  participating,  is  to  abide 
at  their  homes,  or  at  least  not  to  be  found  in  the 
neighborhood  of  riotous  assemblages. 

While  there  will  be  no  vacillation  in  the  deci¬ 
sive  treatment  of  the  guilty,  this  warning  is  es¬ 
pecially  intended  to  protect  and  save  the  innocent. 

On  the  i oth  of  July,  Eugene  V.  Debs,  the 
president  of  the  American  Railway  Union, 
together  with  its  vice-president,  general  secre¬ 
tary,  and  one  other  who  was  an  active  direc¬ 
tor,  were  arrested  upon  indictments  found 
against  them  for  complicity  in  the  obstruction 
of  mails  and  interstate  commerce.  Three  days 
afterward  our  special  counsel  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  strike  was  practically  broken. 
This  must  not  be  taken  to  mean,  however,  that 
peace  and  quiet  had  been  completely  restored 
or  that  the  transportation  of  mails  and  the  ac¬ 
tivities  of  interstate  commerce  were  entirely 
free -from  interruption.  It  was  only  the  ex¬ 
pression  of  a  well-sustained  and  deliberate  ex- 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


37 


pectation  that  the  combination  of  measures 
already  inaugurated,  and  others  contemplated 
in  the  near  future,  would  speedily  bring  about 
a  termination  of  the  difficulty. 

On  the  seventeenth  day  of  July  an  informa¬ 
tion  was  filed  in  the  United  States  Circuit 
Court  at  Chicago  against  Debs  and  the  three 
other  officials  of  the  Railway  Union  who  had 
been  arrested  on  indictment  a  few  days  before, 
but  were  then  at  large  on  bail.  This  informa¬ 
tion  alleged  that  these  parties  had  been  guilty 
of  open,  continued,  and  defiant  disobedience  of 
the  injunction  which  was  served  on  them  July 
3,  forbidding  them  to  do  certain  specified  acts 
tending  to  incite  and  aid  the  obstruction  of  the 
carriage  of  mails  and  the  operation  of  inter¬ 
state  commerce.  On  the  footing  of  this  infor¬ 
mation  these  parties  were  brought  before  the 
court  to  show  cause  why  they  should  not  be 
punished  for  contempt  in  disobeying  the  in¬ 
junction.  Instead  of  giving  bail  for  their  free¬ 
dom  pending  the  investigation  of  this  charge 
against  them,  as  they  were  invited  to  do,  they 


38 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


preferred  to  be  committed  to  custody — perhaps 
intending  by  such  an  act  of  martyrdom  either 
to  revive  a  waning  cause,  or  to  gain  a  plausi¬ 
ble  and  justifying  excuse  for  the  collapse  of 
their  already  foredoomed  movement.  Debs 
himself,  in  speaking  of  this  event  afterward, 
said :  “As  soon  as  the  employees  found  that 
we  were  arrested  and  taken  from  the  scene  of 
action  they  became  demoralized,  and  that  end¬ 
ed  the  strike.” 

That  the  strike  ended  about  the  time  of  this 
second  arrest  is  undoubtedly  true;  for,  during 
the  few  days  immediately  preceding  and  fol¬ 
lowing  the  seventeenth  day  of  July,  reports 
came  from  nearly  all  the  localities  to  which  the 
strike  had  spread,  indicating  its  defeat  and  the 
accomplishment  of  all  the  purposes  of  the 
Government’s  interference.  The  successful  as¬ 
sertion  of  national  authority  was  conclusively 
indicated  when  on  the  twentieth  day  of  July 
the  last  of  the  soldiers  of  the  United  States 
who  had  been  ordered  for  duty  at  the  very 
center  of  opposition  and  disturbance,  were 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


39 


withdrawn  from  Chicago  and  returned  to  the 
military  posts  to  which  they  were  attached. 

I  hope  I  have  been  successful  thus  far  in  my 
effort  satisfactorily  to  exhibit  the  extensive 
reach  and  perilous  tendency  of  the  convulsion 
under  consideration,  the  careful  promptness 
which  characterized  the  interference  of  the 
Government,  the  constant  desire  of  the  national 
administration  to  avoid  extreme  measures,  the 
scrupulous  limitation  of  its  interference  to  pur¬ 
poses  which  were  clearly  within  its  constitu¬ 
tional  competency  and  duty,  and  the  gratifying 
and  important  results  of  its  conservative  but 
stern  activity. 

I  must  not  fail  to  mention  here  as  part  of  the 
history  of  this  perplexing  affair,  a  contribu¬ 
tion  made  by  the  governor  of  Illinois  to  its 
annoyances.  This  official  not  only  refused  to 
regard  the  riotous  disturbances  within  the  bor¬ 
ders  of  his  State  as  a  sufficient  cause  for  an 
application  to  the  Federal  Government  for  its 
protection '  “against  domestic  violence”  under 
the  mandate  of  the  Constitution,  but  he  ao 


40 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


tually  protested  against  the  presence  of  Fed¬ 
eral  troops  sent  into  the  State  upon  the  general 
Government’s  own  initiative  and  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  defending  itself  in  the  exercise  of  its 
well-defined  legitimate  functions. 

On  the  fifth  day  of  July,  twenty-four  hours 
after  our  soldiers  had  been  brought  to  the  city 
of  Chicago,  pursuant  to  the  order  of  July  3d, 
I  received  a  long  despatch  from  Governor  Alt- 
geld,  beginning  as  follows : 

I  am  advised  that  you  have  ordered  Federal 
troops  to  go  into  service  in  the  State  of  Illinois. 
Surely  the  facts  have  not  been  correctly  presented 
to  you  in  this  case  or  you  would  not  have  taken 
the  step;  for  it  is  entirely  unnecessary  and,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  unjustifiable.  Waiving  all  question 
of  courtesy,  I  will  say  that  the  State  of  Illinois  is 
not  only  able  to  take  care  of  itself,  but  it  stands 
ready  to-day  to  furnish  the  Federal  Government 
any  assistance  it  may  need  elsewhere. 

This  opening  sentence  was  followed  by  a 
lengthy  statement  which  so  far  missed  actual 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


41 


conditions  as  to  appear  irrelevant,  and,  in  some 
parts,  absolutely  frivolous. 

This  remarkable  despatch  closed  with  the 
following  words : 

As  Governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  I  protest 
against  this  and  ask  the  immediate  withdrawal  of 
Federal  troops  from  active  duty  in  this  State. 
Should  the  situation  at  any  time  get  so  serious 
that  we  cannot  control  it  with  the  State  forces, 
we  will  promptly  and  freely  ask  for  Federal  as¬ 
sistance  ;  but  until  such  time  I  protest  with  all 
due  deference  against  this  uncalled-for  reflection 
upon  our  people,  and  again  ask  for  the  immediate 
withdrawal  of  these  troops. 

Immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  this  com¬ 
munication,  I  sent  to  Governor  Altgeld  the  fol¬ 
lowing  reply : 

Federal  troops  were  sent  to  Chicago  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  upon  the  demand  of  the  Post- 
Office  Department  that  obstructions  of  the  mails 


42 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


should  be  removed,  and  upon  the  representation 
of  the  judicial  officers  of  the  United  States  that 
process  of  the  Federal  courts  could  not  be  ex¬ 
ecuted  through  the  ordinary  means,  and  upon 
abundant  proof  that  conspiracies  existed  against 
commerce  between  the  States.  To  meet  these 
conditions,  which  are  clearly  within  the  province 
of  Federal  authority,  the  presence  of  Federal 
troops  in  the  city  of  Chicago  was  deemed  not 
only  proper  but  necessary;  and  there  has  been 
no  intention  of  thereby  interfering  with  the 
plain  duty  of  the  local  authorities  to  preseiwe  the 
peace  of  the  city. 


Ill 


In  response  to  this  the  governor,  evidently 
unwilling  to  allow  the  matter  at  issue  between 
us  to  rest  without  a  renewal  of  argument  and 
protest,  at  once  addressed  to  me  another  long 
telegraphic  communication,  evidently  intended 
to  be  more  severely  accusatory  and  insistent 
than  its  predecessor.  Its  general  tenor  may  be 
inferred  from  the  opening  words  : 


Your  answer  to  my  protest  involves  some  start¬ 
ling  conclusions,  and  ignores  and  evades  the 
question  at  issue — that  is,  that  the  principle  of 
local  self-government  is  just  as  fundamental  in 
our  institutions  as  is  that  of  Federal  supremacy. 
You  calmly  assume  that  the  Executive  has  the 
legal  right  to  order  Federal  troops  into  any  com¬ 
munity  of  the  United  States  in  the  first  instance, 
whenever  there  is  the  slightest  disturbance,  and 
that  he  can  do  this  without  any  regard  to  the 


43 


44 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


question  as  to  whether  the  community  is  able  to 
and  ready  to  enforce  the  law  itself. 

After  a  rather  dreary  discussion  of  the  im¬ 
portance  of  preserving  the  rights  of  the  States 
and  a  presentation  of  the  dangers  to  constitu¬ 
tional  government  that  lurked  in  the  course 
that  had  been  pursued  by  the  general  Govern¬ 
ment,  this  communication  closed  as  follows : 

Inasmuch  as  the  Federal  troops  can  do  nothing 
but  what  the  State  troops  can  do  there,  and  believ¬ 
ing  that  the  State  is  amply  able  to  take  care  of 
the  situation  and  to  enforce  the  law,  and  believ¬ 
ing  that  the  ordering  out  of  the  Federal  troops 
was  unwarranted,  I  again  ask  their  withdrawal. 

I  confess  that  my  patience  was  somewhat 
strained  when  I  quickly  sent  the  following  de¬ 
spatch  in  reply  to  this  communication : 

Executive  Mansion. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  July  6,  1894. 

While  I  am  still  persuaded  that  I  have  neither 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


45 

transcended  my  authority  nor  duty  in  the  emer¬ 
gency  that  confronts  us,  it  seems  to  me  that  in 
this  hour  of  danger  and  public  distress,  discussion 
may  well  give  way  to  active  efforts  on  the  part  of 
all  in  authority  to  restore  obedience  to  law  and  to 
protect  life  and  property. 

Grover  Cleveland. 

Hon.  John  P.  Altgeld, 

Governor  of  Illinois. 


This  closed  a  discussion  which  in  its  net  re¬ 
sults  demonstrated  how  far  one’s  disposition 
and  inclination  will  lead  him  astray  in  the  field 
of  argument. 

I  shall  conclude  the  treatment  of  my  subject 
by  a  brief  reference  to  the  legal  proceedings 
which  grew  out  of  this  disturbance,  and  finally 
led  to  an  adjudication  by  the  highest  court  in 
our  land,  establishing  in  an  absolutely  authori¬ 
tative  manner  and  for  all  time  the  power  of  the 
national  Government  to  protect  itself  in  the 
exercise  of  its  functions. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  in  the  course  of  our 


4  6 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


narrative  we  left  Mr.  Debs,  the  president  of 
the  Railway  Union,  and  his  three  associates  in 
custody  of  the  law,  on  the  seventeenth  day  of 
July,  awaiting  an  investigation  of  the  charge 
of  contempt  of  court  made  against  them,  based 
upon  their  disobedience  of  the  writs  of  injunc¬ 
tion  forbidding  them  to  do  certain  things  in  aid 
or  encouragement  of  interference  with  mail 
transportation  or  interstate  commerce. 

This  investigation  was  so  long  delayed  that 
the  decision  of  the  Circuit  Court  before  which 
the  proceedings  were  pending  was  not  rendered 
until  the  fourteenth  day  of  December,  1894. 
On  that  date  the  court  delivered  an  able  and 
carefully  considered  decision  finding  Debs  and 
his  associates  guilty  of  contempt  of  court,  bas¬ 
ing  its  decision  upon  the  provisions  of  the  law 
of  Congress,  passed  in  1890,  entitled :  “An  act 
to  protect  trade  and  commerce  against  unlaw¬ 
ful  restraint  and  monopolies”;  sometimes 
called  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Law.  There¬ 
upon  the  parties  were  sentenced  on  said  con¬ 
viction  to  confinement  in  the  county  jail  for 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


47 


terms  varying  from  three  to  six  months.  .Af¬ 
terward,  and  on  the  14th  clay  of  January, 
1895,  the  prisoners  applied  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  for  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  to  relieve  them  from  imprisonment,  on 
the  ground  that  the  facts  found  against  them 
by  the  Circuit  Court  did  not  constitute  diso¬ 
bedience  of  the  writs  of  injunction  and  that 
their  commitment  in  the  manner  and  for  the 
reasons  alleged  was  without  justification  and 
not  within  the  constitutional  power  and  juris¬ 
diction  of  that  tribunal. 

On  this  application,  the  case  was  elaborately 
argued  before  the  Supreme  Court  in  March, 
1895 ;  and  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  May, 
1895,  the  court  rendered  its  decision,  upholding 
on  the  broadest  grounds  the  proceedings  of  the 
Circuit  Court  and  confirming  its  adjudication 
and  the  commitment  to  jail  of  the  petitioners 
thereupon. 

Justice  Brewer,  in  delivering  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court,  stated  the  case 
as  follows : 


1 


48 


THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE 


The  United  States,  finding  that  the  interstate 
transportation  of  persons  and  property,  as  well  as 
the  carriage  of  mails,  is  forcibly  obstructed,  and 
that  a  combination  and  conspiracy  exists  to  sub¬ 
ject  the  control  of  such  transportation  to  the  will 
of  the  conspirators,  applied  to  one  of  their  courts 
sitting  as  a  court  of  equity,  for  an  injunction  to 
restrain  such  obstructions  and  prevent  carrying 
into  effect  such  conspiracy.  Two  questions  of 
importance  are  presented :  First,  are  the  relations 
of  the  general  Government  to  interstate  commerce 
and  the  transportation  of  the  mails  such  as  to 
authorize  a  direct  interference  to  prevent  a  forci¬ 
ble  obstruction  thereof?  Second,  if  authority  ex¬ 
ists, — as  authority  in  governmental  affairs  implies 
both  power  and  duty, — has  a  court  of  equity 
jurisdiction  to  issue  an  injunction  in  aid  of  the 
performance  of  such  duty? 

Both  of  these  questions  were  answered  by 
the  court  in  the  affirmative;  and  in  the  opinion 
read  by  the  learned  justice,  the  inherent  power 
of  the  Government  to  execute  the  powers  and 
functions  belonging  to  it  by  means  of  physical 


CHICAGO  STRIKE  OF  1894 


49 


force  through  its  official  agents,  and  on  every 
foot  of  American  soil,  was  amply  vindicated  by 
a  process  of  reasoning  simple,  logical,  unham¬ 
pered  by  fanciful  distinctions,  and  absolutely 
conclusive;  and  the  Government’s  peaceful  re¬ 
sort  to  the  court,  the  injunction  issued  in  its 
aid,  and  all  the  proceedings  thereon,  including 
the  imprisonment  of  Debs  and  his  associates, 
were  fully  approved. 

Thus  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  has  written  the  closing  words  of  this 
history,  tragical  in  many  of  its  details,  and  in 
every  line  provoking  sober  reflection.  As  we 
gratefully  turn  its  concluding  page,  those  who 
were  most  nearly  related  by  executive  responsi¬ 
bility  to  the  troublous  days  whose  story  is  told 
may  well  especially  congratulate  themselves  on 
the  part  which  fell  to  them  in  marking  out  the 
way  and  clearing  the  path,  now  unchangeably 
established,  which  shall  hereafter  guide  our  na¬ 
tion  safely  and  surely  in  the  exercise  of  the  im¬ 
portant  functions  which  represent  the  people’s 
trust. 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


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